A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong Review – A Dickensian Disaster to Be Savored | stage

IMeanwhile, I heard one of the newcomers to the perpetual “bug” concept at the Mischief Theater wondering whether these comedic symphonies of am-dram mishaps were getting old. On the contrary: in the first half of this Dickensian blooper, much of the enjoyment comes from watching the company carry an all-too-familiar array of gags ready to explode after intermission.

Long-term observers of mischief will guess, for example, that when a box of Maltesers was dropped during rehearsals inside the model box of The Cornelie Polytechnic Players’ Christmas Song, it would end up as an oversized component of the set. They’ll learn that the rivalry between arrogant director Chris and bombastic actor Robert, who has a penchant for writing classic essays in the nude, will lead to crazy acts of vandalism when production begins. And they can be sure that foolish Dennis, who thinks he’s auditioning for the role of “Frog Cratchit” after seeing the Muppets musical as research, will well and truly cook everyone’s goose.

“We’re not dolls, are we?” He belittles Chris, before one ridiculous routine after another proves otherwise. How do you even choose your favorite ghost out of all these mixtures? There’s the infinitely funny Henry Lewis, as Robert, who plays the Ghost of Christmas Present wearing a huge, gift-wrapped box. Or Nancy Zammit, as Annie, twirling excitedly — limbs darting in all directions — as the Ghost of Christmas Past. And when Trevor (Chris Lesk) plays the Ghost of Christmas Future — or the One Who Has Yet to Come — it’s a challenging piece of physical comedy performed inside a 10-foot-tall costume. Some of Roberto Sorace’s costumes are oddly entertaining, as are Libby Todd’s designs.

Other old Mischief hands include Jonathan Sayer who returns as Dennis and is co-writing the script with Lewis and Henry Shields, a script that goes in different directions for the 2017 BBC TV comedy of the same name. Greg Tannahill had a nice joke that his last leading role (in Peter Pan Goes Wrong, also done for television and stage) had left him with such a fear of heights that he needed to avoid the upper register when singing. Matt Cavendish pulls off a volatile scene playing five characters on his own, while the new members of Mischief bring a distinct mix of frustration (Daniel Fraser as Chris) and delusion (Sasha Frost as Sandra).

The play within the play turns Charles Dickens’ enduring character upside down by making Tiny Tim a towering monster and leaving Scrooge even more bitter at the end of the tale. But the behind-the-scenes story conveys goodwill when paranoid director Chris – too cheap to turn on the heating – sympathizes with his theater buddies and vice versa.

Since the am-drum players’ lines are often out of sync or their dialogue doesn’t match what we’re seeing, Matt DiCarlo’s production chimes in with comedic harmony. Mischief is one of the precious few companies to bring out a stage management team at curtain call – further proof that these team players are the antithesis of Ebenezer. Bless them all.